Ice Climbers (Super Smash Bros. Zenith)
Popo and Nana, together known as the Ice Climbers, are a pair of default characters in Super Smash Bros. Zenith, and are two of the more well-known characters of the NES era, with thanks to their Smash debut in Super Smash Bros. Melee. What makes these fighters unique is that they are always fighting as a pair, without one piggybacking on the other, but actually standing next to each other and controlling like any other character. History The Ice Climbers debuted in the 1985 game Ice Climber for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was a bit Arcade-like and had about 32 mountains to climb. In this game, the player had to control Popo, who has to scale each mountain and get to the Condor flying above the summit. This pterodactyl-like Condor has stolen vegetables from Popo and his sister Nana. These vegetables (including the Eggplant, the series icon) can be retrieved during the Bonus Levels of each mountain, and each deliver extra bonus points when the player managed to reach the Condor in time. Ice Climber can be played with a second player, who controls Nana. An arcade remake known as Vs. Ice Climber has also been released, which had a few more features not present in the original version, such as blizzards and wind effects. After the NES era, Ice Climber became obscure until in 2001, which featured Popo and Nana as a pair of fighters in Super Smash Bros. Melee. A lot of the Ice Climbers' moves are based on elements in Ice Climber, and remain the same as in Brawl, but they gained a completely new Final Smash based on one of their moves, as well as a Custom Final Smash featuring the Condor. Gimmick As the very first duo characters, the Ice Climbers can each be controlled at the same time. However, the Ice Climber in front (usually Popo) is the one the player has full control of, while the Ice Climber in the back is controlled by a CPU that follows the player character and mimics all Special Moves, but may sometimes attack on its own. When they somehow get separated, the player can use Belay to reunite the two. The Ice Climbers need each other, because if the CPU-controlled Ice Climber has been knocked off the stage, the player Ice Climber's powers cannot be backed up, and are thus weaker. In contrast to Melee or Brawl, however, this only leaves the first Ice Climber defenseless but temporarily, as the second one will simply respawn after ten seconds, similar to Rosalina & Luma, a different type of duo character. For the first time, the player can decide whether they want to have Popo or Nana in the lead, no matter what Alternate Costume is being used. The DLC-exclusive Squid Sisters makes similar use of the same gimmick as the Ice Climbers, even to the point that the player can have either Callie or Marie in the lead like Popo or Nana. Another similar set of characters is Pikmin & Olimar, in which up to three Pikmin are controlled by CPU players and follow either Olimar or Alph around. Unlike the Ice Climber or Squid Sisters, however, the Pikmin are used as weapons of Olimar, and only attack by themselves when latched onto an opponent. Movesets Standard/Tilted Attacks Smash Attacks Aerial Attacks Floor/Edge Attack Grabs Special Moves Miscellaneous Palutena's Guidance Codec Trophies Smash Trophies |} Other Alternate Costumes